Evolve will be a ‘permanent’ franchise as Take-Two is 'blessed' with less competition

Only a few months into its life in the open world, the folks behind Evolve, the 4v1 multiplayer shooter/monster brawler are clearly very proud of what the game has accomplished. Earlier this month, when it was announced Evolve had shipped 2.5 million copies, Take-Two interactive, the parent publisher for 2K, labeled it a ‘key long term franchise.’

Speaking at the 43rd Annual Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, (via Gamespot) Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick doubled down on the company’s commitment to Evolve, going as far as to label it a ‘permanent’ franchise, saying, “We’re really happy with where it’s going. It isn’t 10 million units…yet. But it is an important franchise for us… We think we’ve developed another permanent IP.” Recognizing Evolve’s limitations however, he added, “I think we come out of that experience reminding ourselves we have to have a strong single-player opportunity. But we knew that about Evolve… if there were something lacking, I would say it would be that it was probably a bit too multiplayer-focused, which we knew all along.”

This isn’t the first time Zelnick has used the term ‘permanent franchise.’ Back in 2013, speaking of Red Dead Redemption, he explained, “It’s been our goal not just to preserve and grow the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but also to build other franchises that we think can be permanent, whether that’s the Red Dead franchise or the Borderlands franchise or the BioShock franchise or others, Civilization, for example.” As a publisher, “our goal is to try to create permanent franchises, that’s the unique goal in the industry.”

At the same conference, Zelnick also took the time to discuss Take-Two’s position in the industry overall. Overall, Zelnick is incredibly confident, saying, “The truth is that we’re blessed in that the shelf is way less crowded today than it was at the beginning of the last console cycle. There’s been a big shake out. It’s pretty hard to make AAA products that are really competitive… There is no opportunity to make a AAA game in a garage. Those days are long gone. You need at least 100 people working on a title for at least two or three years. That is a very expensive, complex, difficult undertaking.”

As the news broke, one of our editors was quick to ask if people were even interested in an Evolve sequel. As for what the future holds for Evolve, we will just have to wait and see. Are you still enjoying the chaotic 4v1 brawls? Excited for a potential single-player focus in the future? Let us know in the comments.

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Sean is a simple man who enjoys a good game, a good story, and the chance to talk about both. That said, he also honestly believes video games have the potential to be the greatest pinnacle of storytelling ever, so there's that... Follow him on Twitter @SeanTimmothy